


Interlude

by Diary



Series: London Spy: Hogwarts Edition [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, London Spy
Genre: Bechdel Test Fail, Canon Gay Character, Conversations, Established Danny Holt/Alex Turner, Established Relationship, Family, Friendship/Love, Gen, M/M, POV Multiple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-04
Updated: 2016-03-04
Packaged: 2018-05-24 18:31:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6162723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diary/pseuds/Diary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Crossover. A look at Danny and Alex between their sixth and seventh year. Complete.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Interlude

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own London Spy or Harry Potter.

Charles Turner looks out the window.

Frances and the boy will be back soon. That mother of his will hover around until Frances is finally through interrogating him and leave him alone to start his projects. They’ll talk, him and Marie, then, and life will quickly be even more silent and oppressive around the manor; Frances won’t let any noise or joy distract the boy from schoolwork and the tasks she herself assigns him.

The carpet lands, and Charles feels a sudden interest.

Down below, the boy doesn’t get off the carpet. In his place, a man does.

Some people just have a sense for certain things, and Charles has always been able to tell a virgin from a non-virgin.

He had known the boy had finally gotten a friend. Even little Alistair wouldn’t have been consistently writing letters every few days for three solid months to someone about his Arithmancy, runes, and general maths.

He never would have thought, however, shy little Alistair with his compulsive need for tidiness and avoidance of touch from even Marie would have done something like this.

Peering, he takes a closer look.

To himself, he can admit, if he had a son, he’d hope for one similar to Alistair. The boy –man, now- is tall and naturally well-muscled with strong features. Despite his prickly nature, he’s always been healthy, and his timidity has never caused a stutter. In fact, for all his reservation around other people and general compliance with authority figures, he’s always seemed calmly sure of himself.

He wonders if the one who made Alistair a man was a girl or another boy. It doesn’t particularly matter to him, but he can only imagine how Frances would react to the latter. 

…

Danny has been wishing for the future settings found on TV where no one _has_ to work in order to have food, shelter, and other things since the day he started working at a café near his house. The people who like work are free to, and everyone else has everything they need and want without having to.

He’s mostly gotten used to the swollen feet and sore back. He genuinely likes talking to most of the customers.

Just like in classes, though, he finds himself continually wishing he could write or sketch in his journal, talk to his friends with no limit on their time together or the subject matter, find people to dance with, or simply sit around and listen to music as the world passes him by. 

He’s seventeen, now. In the wizarding world, he’s a fully-fledged adult. When he gets back from Hogwarts, he’ll be eighteen, a fully-fledged adult in the muggle world.

As much as he’s tried not to think of it, he knows his parents are going to want him gone. He knows they want it now but don’t have the excuse to insist on it, yet.

All his life, teachers and professors have been warning him he was heading for a life of low-paying, backbreaking work, and he’d truthfully insisted he hadn’t cared.

He’s starting to care, now.

Even Alex had-

He loves thinking about Alex, but lately, the thoughts have only made things worse.

Alex is a genius and a hard worker. He could work anywhere he wanted, and hopefully, instead of just doing whatever his mum wants, he will. Alex comes from money, and part of the reason Danny’s parents have always claimed he was living with cousins rather than attending a boarding school is, because, right, an aimless estate boy somehow managed _that_.

For all he wants the future setting, he doesn’t want someone to have to take care of him. He already feels bad enough about the constant worry Pavel and Sara show over him. And though he’s never particularly cared how his parents, teachers, and professors felt about his attitude towards school and homework, there are times he’s hit sharply with the realisation of how Alex must feel, and he worries, once they’ve graduated, those feelings will soon have to be confronted by both of them.

It’s fine for Alex to have a boyfriend who makes mostly As with the occasional E along with the few unfortunate Ps, but he knows adult life comes with a different set of rules.

He’s so caught up in these thoughts he almost doesn’t register the fact his latest customer just paid him with several Galleons.

Looking up, he sees the customer is an older man in a muggle suit frowning at paper in his hand.

Disappearing into the kitchen area, Danny slips into a corner between the freezer and wall, withdraws his wallet, and finds he has enough money to cover the man’s order. Putting it on the ticket holder, he goes back out and inquires, “Anything else, sir?”

Still looking at the letter, the man absently takes a drink of his tea and answers, “No, thank you.”

The Galleons slipped back into the man’s pockets, Danny goes to check on a different table.

…

In the manor’s maze, Charles finds Alistair sitting on a towel on the ground and tracing runes in the dirt with a stick.

“Don’t get up,” he orders when Alistair gives a respectful nod and makes to do so. Easing onto a nearby bench, he says, “I never thought you’d find someone.”

“Find someone,” Alistair repeats. “How do you mean that?”

“When it was just the letters, I thought you’d found a friend,” Charles says. “But you came back different.”

Alistair’s face is as calm as ever. He does occasionally make facial expressions, but Charles has never felt the emotions behind them. “I’m always slightly different from when I leave to when I come back.”

Laughing slightly, Charles says, “I think you know what I mean. You know, your showers have always been five to ten minutes. Except now, when they can sometimes last up to twenty. Do you honestly think I don’t know what the reason is?”

Alistair looks away with a faint tinge of colour flushing his face.

“Whoever it is, I’m glad for you,” Charles sincerely tells him. “I’m terrified of how Frances might react, and if you’re serious about this person, I’m not sure you’re being fair to them, but I’m glad for you.”

“Are you going to ask who it is?”

“No. But if you want to tell me, it’s one thing I certainly won’t be sharing with her. Whether you like what I say about her or not, she is a sadistic, narcissistic bitch, and if you ever decide to stop dancing to her strings, gods help us all.”

Alistair is quiet for a long moment, and just as Charles is about to get up, he hears a soft, “His name is Danny.”

Suddenly, he’s being handed a picture.

On a sofa, a skinny boy with floppy black hair and sparkling blue eyes is laughing. He’s got his tie undone (Hufflepuff) and one arm slung around Alistair’s shoulder. Whilst he’s obviously focused on the picture taker, next to him, Alistair is looking between him and a paper in Alistair’s lap.

This boy is the type most could probably guess, even if they chose not say, is queer, but one look at the way Alistair is looking at him would cause anyone not blind or severely challenged by mentally disabilities to label Alistair as helplessly in love.

Handing the picture back, he comments, “I suppose you could have done worse.”

To his surprise, Alistair’s tone is vaguely defiant, “I know he could have done better.”

“I wouldn’t try telling him that,” he advises.

Hesitating, he briefly puts a hand on Alistair’s shoulder before getting up.

…

“Are you Danny Holt?”

Danny looks up from the table he’s cleaning.

It’s a cute boy, and Danny automatically knows he’s likely one of the ones who’ve heard about Danny’s willingness to do certain things. Danny’s been happily letting those rumours swirl around the neighbourhood since he was probably too young to for it to have been healthy to have such an interest in, never mind actually being willing to do, said things. He’s always made it clear, though, no one was to stop by his house unless it was arranged, and out of a combination of fear and respect when it comes to his parents, he’s never done anything in the house. There was one boy he traded a few kisses with in his room, but otherwise, anyone who came over likely found themselves eating snacks in the kitchen or watching TV on the living room couch.

“Yeah,” he answers. “Um, you might have heard rumours about me. Being gay. I am, but don’t worry, I have a boyfriend. Meaning I won’t try anything.”

That really could have gone a lot smoother, he despairingly thinks.

Thankfully, whatever reservations he has about the words, they seem to work.

The boy gives a small sigh, shrugs, and orders a coffee and package of biscuits.

Nearby, one his co-workers, a girl named Dimity Nelson, slides over and leans against the wall. “Since when do you have a boyfriend?”

He vaguely remembers they went to school together before he started Hogwarts.

“For about two or three years, now,” he answers. “I met him when I was fifteen. He goes to my school.”

“He must be special.”

Bouncing slightly, Danny agrees, “He is. And if it weren’t for the fact he’s not completely out, you and the others would probably want to kill me, because, I wouldn’t shut up about him.”

Rolling her eyes, Diminty comments, “At least, you realise this about yourself, I guess.”

He grins.

…

When Frances is out, Marie mixes together Alex’s favourite teas as he reads. “We haven’t talked much since you got back,” she says. “And your letters have been shorter, too. Is everything alright?”

He nods.

After she sets the mug down, he looks up. “Thank you.”

“I know I’m not a boy or magical, and things were very different for me when I was your age, but you know you can trust me, don’t you? Even if I can’t understand?”

Taking a small sip, he asks, “How would you feel if I were homosexual?”

Sighing, she sits down. “I’d be worried. To be honest, I’d be a little sad, too, since that would likely mean no children. But there’s so much pain in this world, and I hate the thought of children hurting themselves because everyone is screaming how wrong they are. If two people are happy and not hurting anyone, they’re luckier than most. I’d never wish that away from them, and I’d especially never wish happiness away from you.”

She waits.

“Do you believe in soulmates?”

She takes a minute to answer. “I think it’s a nice idea. I don’t know whether I do or not.”

“Why,” he demands with a hint of exasperation, “does it seem as if everyone considers it a nice idea?”

Smiling slightly, she offers, “Not everyone is as logical as you, sweetheart. You know, I keep hearing about all the bad religion causes, and I can’t really deny it. But finding out about the magic world has only strengthened my belief in God. I think all the pain and suffering and hate in this world hurts him just as much, if not more, than it does us. I don’t know whether soulmates are real or not, but I like to think that there’s a chance people can find one person who will always love them. That they can find someone they will always love.”

“Besides,” she continues, “for some people, ‘soulmates’ means different things. For some, it only applies to romantic love. For others, it can mean a best friend or even a family member.”

“Do you think a person can be in love at seventeen?”

“It depends on the person. In some cases, yes.”

“Do you know why I’m asking these questions?”

“I can guess,” she answers. “I’m sorry if this is only making it harder, but there are some questions I’m not going to ask. If you want to tell me, you know I’ll listen. You can trust me. If you don’t- I hope there’s someone else you can trust to talk to. I hope you do talk to them.”

Quietly, he announces, “I have a boyfriend.”

Leaning over, she kisses his cheek. “Tell me about him.”

Handing her a picture, he does.

…

An old mate from primary school, Jason Weiss, invites him over to play video games.

Danny has never quite gotten the hang of them, but he agrees.

“I heard you have a boyfriend and aren’t doing things with people anymore.”

Nodding, he watches in confusion as his character is killed for the fifth time. “Yeah. I heard you have a girlfriend, now. How’s that?”

“Awesome!”

Laughing, Danny tells him, “I’m really glad for you.”

They play some more.

“But this boyfriend isn’t here.”

“No, he lives near my cousins.”

In truth, Danny doesn’t know where Alex lives and wonders if he should ask. Based on everything Alex has said about his parents, it’s unlikely Danny will ever stop over.

“And he’s not coming here?”

“Not likely,” he answers. “His parents don’t know about us, and they’d definitely know if he happened to suddenly take a bus trip miles away from home.”

“Then, what’s stopping you from doing what you’ve always done?”

Danny looks over in surprise. “If your girlfriend didn’t live around and couldn’t come visit, would you do that to her?”

Jason shrugs. “I might. If a fit enough girl was interested in me.”

Frowning, Danny shakes his head. “I know you’ll probably laugh, but I love him. And even if he told me it was okay to see other people, I still wouldn’t. I wouldn’t _want_ to.”

Remembering their conversation before leaving Hogwarts, Danny suddenly understands Alex’s reaction a little better.

For someone who’s never done anything with anyone aside from one person to limit themselves to the one person instead of seeing if there might be better options out there for them, he’s still not completely comfortable with the idea, but he imagines, if he were similarly inexperienced, he’d still only want Alex.

“I’m not laughing,” Jason says. “I guess I’ve just never really understood you.”

“How do you mean?”

“You did all those things without ever expecting or even wanting more, but you’re such a- romantic.”

Danny can’t help but laugh at the way Jason wrinkles his nose. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“No offence, but I’ve always found it silly.”

Shrugging, Danny says, “None taken.”

His character finally scores a point, only to promptly lose half of them.

“I guess I just never thought that not having fun was something I needed to do,” Danny continues. “I was always looking for someone special, but the idea he wouldn’t be special if I did things with people who weren’t- I’ve never understand that line of thinking.”

“Your boyfriend doesn’t mind all the things you’ve done?”

“I don’t think so.”

The question hits uncomfortably close.

He and Alex have talked about Alex’s inexperience and Danny’s experience both, but while Danny has said he doesn’t mind the former- Alex hasn’t really said anything outside of asking questions and talking about the things they might want to try with each other.

Remembering some of the stuff Sara did when he first got his heart broken, he says, “If I’m not special, they aren’t special. If all I’ve done bothers them, they should go find someone who hasn’t and let me find someone who isn’t bothered.”

Unfortunately, even with truly believing the words, when it comes to Alex, he knows, if this ever turns out to be the case, he won’t be able to put them in practise as easily as he can say them. Even with being able to let Alex go- he doesn’t think anything will ever dissuade him of Alex’s specialness.

“Well,” Jason says, “I’m glad you’ve found someone.”

Jason wins.

“Want to hang out with me and Nelle this Friday after your shift is over?” 

“Nelle’s your girlfriend?”

Nodding, Jason leans over, rifles through several pairs of jeans until he finds his wallet, and produces a picture.

“She’s pretty,” Danny offers. “Yeah. But I mean, obviously, only if she’s cool with it.”

“Nah, she’s always wanting to meet my friends, but with her looking like she does- with you, though, I know there won’t be any problems.”

Danny genuinely likes Jason, but this isn’t the first time he’s found himself uncomfortable with some of the things Jason has said about girls.

…

Marie and Charles both look down at the picture.

“He’s like Alex, isn’t he,” she asks. “His parents aren’t magical, either.”

“Whatever he is, he certainly isn’t pureblood,” he answers. Sighing, he asks, “Did you ever suspect?”

“Yes.”

“He and I both appreciate the warning,” he snaps.

She shrinks back. “I thought it best to let him figure out things on his own and let him know I’d be here once he did.” Scooting farther away, she adds, “And to do that, I had to try make sure she never suspected.”

Shrugging, Charles says, “He’s seventeen, now. A man in more ways than one.”

“He’s always going to be our little boy.”

“He wasn’t yours until she took him, he’s never been hers, and he’s certainly never been mine. Let him be a man,” he tiredly orders. “It’s the best anyone can do for him.”

“This boy, Danny, could love him,” she says. “Looking at how he looks at him- I hope he does.”


End file.
